


Why Can I Never Say No To You? (Because You Love Me)

by AvatarAbby



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Adoption, Baby, F/F, Family, Family Feels, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:21:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28520796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarAbby/pseuds/AvatarAbby
Summary: When Kyoshi brings home a baby on a whim, Rangi worries that she would fail miserably at raising this child.
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 96





	Why Can I Never Say No To You? (Because You Love Me)

“We apologize, Avatar Kyoshi, for making you come all this way for nothing.”  
Kyoshi didn’t respond to the woman as she stood in the center of the delivery room, never taking her eyes off the newborn laid in the bassinet just before her.   
The child had dark brown hair and a pale complexion. She wrapped tightly in a fresh, warm blanket, but that didn’t seemed to matter. The little girl just kept on screaming.  
“The mother died shortly after giving birth?”   
“Yes. She was a young girl from the village, with no husband or family that we know of. When she went into labor, it was obvious that she and the baby were in distress, and then the heavy bleeding started postpartum. We did everything we could, but nothing worked. I’m sorry that we even troubled you, but when we heard that the Avatar was in the area, we thought maybe she had a chance of being saved, however small it was.”  
“Stop apologizing,” she responded flatly. “It would’ve been an honor to save that woman’s life.”  
Today had been a slow day anyway. Jinpa had insisted that after months of traveling the world non-stop, the Avatar and her lover were overdue for a break. And so, Kyoshi and Rangi headed out for a hike and picnic, only to be disturbed halfway through by her secretary informing her of the troubling events happening a few towns over.  
The warrior always hated when things like this happened. Not only because it reminded her of how powerless she was to stop death and suffering, but she could also see the consequences of that reality play out right before her eyes. This one especially hurt, because now this child was all alone, without a mother, a father, or really any semblance of family.  
Just like she was.  
She tries to keep her voice from steady when she asks, “what’s going to happen to the child?”  
“It’s hard to say. Because she has no living family, she’ll most likely be sent to the local orphanage. But I’m not sure if any family would want to adopt her. She’s stable but weak, and most people prefer to have sons anyway.”  
Kyoshi clenched her fists in anger at that. What a ridiculous notion, that only men could effectively pass on the traditions and bloodline of a family. And shouldn’t the whole point of having children be doing your best to raise them up strong and love them unconditionally? How would that be even possible, if all one worried about in the beginning what the baby’s private parts looked like?  
But, as much as the woman in her late twenties hated it, the woman was only speaking the harsh truth to her. This little girl was going to have a tough road ahead of her, that much was obvious to everyone. It had been decided before she had even been on this earth for a full twenty-four hours.  
But Kyoshi wouldn’t let history repeat itself. Not if she could help it.  
————————————————————  
“You brought home a baby! Without even talking to me first!?”  
“She has no family left in the entire world, Rangi,” the tall master of all four elements explained. “I couldn’t just leave her there.”  
“I know that Kyoshi. As crazy as what you did was, that I actually is not what bothers me. What bothers me is that you just barreled ahead with this plan without thinking like always. I mean, look at her!” the firebender said as she gestured to the baby in the Avatars arms. “She’s so tiny and fragile. And she has needs- clothes, diapers, toys, milk, the list goes on and on. We have no idea how to adequately provide any of those things for her.”  
“We can learn,” the Avatar insisted.  
“And what, become instant parents? We haven’t even been married for three years yet.”  
“I’m not saying we adopt her,” Kyoshi said, although she secretly wouldn’t have hated the idea. “I’m just saying that we take care of her for the time being, until we have a chance to find her a forever home. Please, love, all I’m asking is that we give this girl a chance.”  
The body guard silently looked at the sleeping child in her wife’s arms. She had been right in her description of the newborn- she really was tiny and almost frighteningly pale. But still, there was something about her. The cute little noises she made subconsciously, taking deep breathes almost as if to assure the world that yes, she was still here. Fully dependent on others and very small, but still here.  
Rangi sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Why can I never say no to you?”  
Her partner smiled victoriously and answered, “because you love me.”  
————————————————————  
“Relax Rangi,” Kyoshi said as the two of them stood outside the Avatar mansion, waiting for the firebender’s mother to arrive. “It’s all going to be okay.”  
“How in the name of Tui and La am I going to tell my mother that for the past month, we have essentially abandoned all of your Avatar duties to look after a newborn?”  
“Just let her hold the baby,” the woman offered, cooing at the child swaddled in her wife’s arms. “After all, who could ever be mad while they’re looking at that face?”  
“This is my mother we are talking about,” the black-haired female insisted, “the cutthroat firebending master, former headmistress of one of the most elite academies in the entire world. I hardly think a baby is going to woo her.”  
The Avatar shrugged. “If you say so.”  
Suddenly, Hei-Ran came into view, approaching the couple on foot and alone. Even though her hair was turning to gray more than ever before and wrinkles started to line her face, the woman still stood as tall as ever, using the cane at her side to walk in a dignified manner that was worthy of the Fire Lord himself.  
“Hello mother,” Rangi started once her parent was only a few feet away from her. “I know that this situation might come as I shock to you, but I would appreciate it very much if you would allow Kyoshi and myself to explain it to the best of our ability before you voice your opinions.”  
That was when the older woman noticed the bundle in her daughters arms, her eyes widening at the sight. Then, her focus darted back and forth between the couple in front of her, processing what this all meant.  
In an instant, the two younger woman found themselves wrapped in a rather tight embrace while Hei-Ran shouted, “finally!”  
“Finally!?” her daughter exclaimed, her eyes widening as she did so. “You wanted this to happen?”  
“Of course I did. Children bring great honor and happiness to a family. In fact, I told Kyoshi the last time I visited that she should ensure I had a grandchild by the end of this year.”  
Rangi threw her wife a look that seemed to be a combination of shock and anger. This hadn’t been brought to her attention before now. All she received in reply was a guilty smile and shrug of the shoulders.  
“Now,” the former headmistress began, “let’s go inside and have some tea, where you can tell me all about this little bundle of joy.”  
————————————————————  
“You two still haven’t told me her name yet,” Hei-Ran pointed out as she held the baby in her arms, having just heard the story of how they had come to stay with the Avatar and her wife.  
“You don’t name something you aren’t going to keep,” Rangi replied. “We are only taking care of her until we find a proper family to look after her.”  
The older woman turned her attention to her daughter-in-law and raised an eyebrow. “You agree with that mindset, Kyoshi?”  
The tall girl blushed. “I did... at first. But the more time we spend with her, the more I want her to stay here with us.”  
“I assumed as much,” Hei-Ran stated as she motioned to the floor in front of her that was littered with toys for the baby. And she had seen many more of them in the baby’s supposedly temporary room, along with tons of clothes, rattles, and an intricately-designed crib for the child to sleep in.  
“Oh, I didn’t buy any of this stuff for her. Rangi did.”  
“It’s common knowledge that babies need stimulation,” the young firebender tried to reason. “Me obtaining these things simply shows that I am being a good caretaker, not that I have developed any sort of attachment to her.”  
As if being physically hurt by the words just spoken, the newborn girl started to wail uncontrollably, fat tears rushing down her face.  
“It’s been a few hours since was she last fed,” Kyoshi reasoned as she got up from her floor pillow. “I’ll go prepare a bottle for her.”  
“I’m going with you,” her wife insisted, “she likes it when I warm the milk slightly with my bending.”  
“I can firebend too, you know?”  
“She likes the way I do it best.”  
Once the couple had left the room, the former headmistress turned her attention fully onto the infant, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks.   
“It’s alright little one,” she assured the baby as well as herself. “Ever since she was little, my daughter has had a fear of losing the ones she loves, so she keeps her walls up to protect herself from getting hurt. But it’s obvious she has a strong connection to you, and in time, she’s going to stop making excuses and let you in.”  
————————————————————  
Two weeks after Hei-Ran’s visit, Rangi can be found in the child’s room, desperately trying to get them to sleep.  
“Okay,” Rangi said to the baby, her voice dripping with exhaustion. “I’ve bathed you, given you a fresh diaper, and now I’ve just fed you. It’s time to go back in the crib and sleep.”  
The baby started to squirm in protest as she attempted to place her gently onto the mattress.  
“I know what you’re trying to do,” the firebender said sternly while she put the baby up to her eye-level. “All your needs have been met, and you don’t appear to be in any pain. You just want me to stay in here and cuddle with you. Well I’m telling you right now that it’s not going to happen, and my resolve doesn’t break like a twig the way Kyoshi’s does.”  
The only response she received was a pair of eyes staring into hers and a happy gurgle. After a moment, the infant reached over and ran a hand over her caretaker’s cheek.  
The bodyguard sighed in defeat. “Why can I never say no to you?”  
Ever so carefully, the woman sat down and swayed the baby back and forth, quietly humming a Fire Nation lullaby that was sung to her long ago.  
————————————————————  
Kyoshi was starting to worry. It was past midnight and her wife still had not come to bed. She said she was going to try to put the baby to sleep, but that had been hours ago.   
Knowing her wife, the Avatar assumed Rangi had returned to her study to catch up on paperwork, but she wasn’t in there. Nor was she in the kitchen, outside, or in any one of the bathrooms.  
Finally, Kyoshi quietly crept into the nursery and found the firebender sound asleep in the rocking chair, a newborn girl curled up in the sling that went over her chest.  
Not wanting the love of her life to wake up in the morning with a crick in her neck, the tall woman gingerly nudged her partner awake. Together they placed the infant into the crib and made their way to their own bedroom.  
The two women were already in bed, Kyoshi drifting off to sleep, when she heard, “Koko.”  
The Avatar flipped onto her other side so that way she was facing her partner. “Huh?”  
“Koko. I was thinking that could be the baby’s name. At least while she’s staying with us.”  
“You know Rangi,” the woman started, “I wouldn’t hate it if she became a permanent part of our life.”  
“But would that be the responsible thing for us to do? Your position doesn’t exactly enable us to settle down and raise a child.”  
“Your mom seemed to manage raising you in the midst of all her obligations. There are plenty of people who could look after Koko for a few days if we both needed to go somewhere, and we could take her with us on the more diplomatic missions.”  
The firebender sighed. “It’s just... our whole lives it seems like other people have made the big decisions for us, and the only thing we could do was react to them. I don’t want to live that way anymore.”  
“And we won’t. Whatever we choose regarding Koko, whether we keep her or not, it’s going to be a choice we make together. We decide what changes happen in our life now.”  
“You’ve called her Koko twice now, you know.”  
“Just testing it out, hearing how it sounds.”  
“And?”  
“It’s growing on me,” Kyoshi said with a smile.  
“Yeah,” Rangi replied as she cuddled up close to her wife. “Koko is staring to grow on me too.”  
————————————————————  
“You should’ve gotten one of these things years ago,” Kirima said as she bended water into different shapes and sizes, much to the delight of baby Koko. She had been wanting to see this child since she first heard of their existence, and she now was finally getting to, after three months of waiting. “I might actually start visiting more often.”  
“I knew there would be a downside to looking after her,” Rangi quipped, slowly sipping her tea.  
“Oh please. You love it when I stop by, Topknot.”  
“I’d love it a lot more if you’d stop calling me that.”  
“It’s a nickname. Everyone needs a cute nickname, right Koko?” the waterbender cooed at the infant, tickling her tiny foot. “We gotta find you a cute nickname, don’t we? Yes we do! Yes we do!”  
The firebender raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen you this affectionate. Coming down with baby fever?”  
“Most definitely not. The second this little one vomits, wails, or soils herself, I’m handing her over to you to deal with. But I don’t mind spending time with her before that happens- I can already tell that she’s a special one.”  
“Yeah,” the woman smiled in reply as she looked at Koko fondly, “she is.”  
A few moments later, Kyoshi entered the room, her expression as hard as stone.   
Kirima immediately picked up on the tension and excused herself from the room, taking the infant with her.  
“I heard back from a family who would be willing to take Ko- the baby in,” the Avatar explained.  
A swirl of emotions filled Rangi, more than she had anticipated at this type of news. “Who are they?”  
“A nice Earth Kingdom family not too far from here. They own a farm in a safe part of the countryside, already have two biological kids of there own but are interested in adopting more.”  
“...oh.”  
“We don’t have to give her up Rangi,” Kyoshi started to insist, taking her wife’s hands and holding them tight. “We could do this. We could be her family.”  
The bodyguard pulled away from the other woman. “It isn’t that simple Kyoshi.”  
“But why? She needs a family and a home, we can give those to her. And you can pretend all you want, but I see the way you look at her. Deep down, you want her to stay too.”  
Rangi looked her wife dead in the eyes, her fear very apparent. “And what if that’s not enough? What if I fail her? What if something bad happens- like it seems to always do when things are going good- and I can’t protect her. I couldn’t live with that kind of guilt.”  
“Rangi-“  
“I need to be alone right now. I need to think.”   
And with that, the firebender left the room.  
————————————————————  
“Kyoshi told me what’s going on,” Kirima said as she sat down on the bench next to Rangi in the outdoor gardens. “I think you’re making a mistake.”  
Rangi raised an eyebrow accusingly. “And who are you to be giving advice on a topic as sensitive as this?”  
“Wow, Topknot’s showing off her teeth. I guess you do have a point, though, children aren’t exactly my forte. And I think part of that is because of how Jesa and Hark would talk about abandoning Kyoshi.”  
Rangi physically flinched at the reminder that the woman she loved more than anything had been given up by the two people that were supposed to have given everything to her.  
“They were really excited when they found out Jesa was pregnant, you know,” the waterbender started, a sad look in her eye. “The whole time they were expecting, they talked about the adventures they were going to take her on, the things they were going to teach her, basically everything a parent dreams about.”  
“Then why did they leave Kyoshi all alone?”  
“Because that’s all they treated parenting like- a dream. Some fantasy they could live out. They didn’t think about the real challenges that came with having a baby, and when Kyoshi arrived it all came crashing down. Jesa told me how they were overwhelmed whenever she got sick or was fussy, and they feared that something bad was going to happen to her because of their involvement with the daofei. They realized that the best thing for her was to not be with them.  
“And in the end, weren’t they right? If they hadn’t left her, Kyoshi probably would never have accomplished all the incredible things she has or become the woman she is today. She most definitely would have met or fallen in love with you. Abandoning their daughter was probably the greatest act of love Jesa and Hark ever showed her.”  
The firebender turned to the other woman, skeptical curiosity in her eyes. “Why are you telling me all this?”  
“Because you and Kyoshi are not Jesa and Hark. Your wife has the most tender heart that could never allow her to hurt an innocent child and you think things through? looking at how every angle could play out before you take even a single step. I know you two would take the role of motherhood very seriously.  
“I think the situation is the exact opposite this time. This time, the best thing you can do for that baby is take her in, not send her away. Be her family.”  
“And if we make a mistake? If we fail?”  
“Well you’re definitely going to make mistakes. But the only way you totally fail is if you give up. And Rangi, you’ve never been the type to simply just give up.”  
————————————————————  
Koko stared up at Kyoshi with laser focus while she sipped on her bottle, almost as if she was trying to ascertain her caretaker’s thoughts.  
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to you or where your path exactly leads,” the Avatar started, a hint of longing in her voice, “but I do know that you are a pretty special human being. You’ve endured a lot at such a young age, and I’ve seen the progress you’ve made in your development. It’s obvious that your going to go far in life with that kind of stubbornness. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll find a hotheaded, honor-obsessed companion to help keep you in line and make sure you eat properly- that’s when you really know you’ve struck gold.”  
The tall woman leaned down and kissed the baby on her forehead. “How I wish I could get to see you grow up. That’s gonna be a sight for sore eyes.”  
“Then let’s do it.”  
Kyoshi turned around to see her wife standing in the doorway, her eyes lit up with determination and purpose.  
“Let’s watch her grow up,” Rangi started as she walked towards her family. “Let’s shower her with love and kisses everyday. Let’s have family dinners and bedtime stories. Let’s teach her how to bend or use martial arts to defend herself. Let’s comfort her when she’s sick and ground her when she causes trouble. Let’s do it all, Kyoshi.”  
“Rangi, are you sure?”  
“I’m sure, you big oaf.”   
“Please don’t tell me you want this if you really don’t.”  
“I swear I want it love,” the firebender assured her wife and cupped her face. “I’m not going to let fear stop me from the things I want, the things I need to make my life complete. The best thing for Koko is to be with by a family that will never give up on her. And we’re going to be that for her.”  
The Avatar beamed. “You’re already that for me. I love you so much, Rangi.”  
“And I love you.” Then, the woman looked down at the happy baby in her partner’s arms- her daughter. She gently placed a kiss on the girl’s cheek and cooed, “As for you, my darling Koko, words can not explain how I feel for you. I love you more than you could ever know.”

**Author's Note:**

> This might feel a little rushed or whatever, but I just had to write some Rangshi! Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
